Tom Aspray

I began analyzing the financial markets in 1982 when I became the research director for a financial advisory firm and provided regular market analysis on stocks, commodities, currencies and mutual funds. I am a technical analyst. Much of my...

I began analyzing the financial markets in 1982 when I became the research director for a financial advisory firm and provided regular market analysis on stocks, commodities, currencies and mutual funds. I am a technical analyst. Much of my focus was on how obscure technical indicators or methods, could be applied to the financial markets and used as an effective trading tool. Many of the indicators I have used for years, such as Gerry Appell's MACD and Welles Wilder's RSI, have subsequently gained wide popularity.

This page is devoted to sharing my insights and techniques in order to help you become a smarter trader/investor. Over the past twenty years I have traveled around the world several times, visiting all of the major financial centers as he taught professional traders and money managers my approach to the financial markets.

My method of stock selection starts with a proprietary scanning method to select a group of individual stocks for more extensive analysis. This includes an in-depth study of the volume patterns that I use to determine the strength of a stock's trend. Those with the strongest trend, either up or down, are then further analyzed to determine entry, exit and risk levels. I use Fibonacci retracement, projection and extension analysis to determine both profit objectives as well as stops.

The weak economic report Tuesday morning likely caused more selling as it once again stoked fears of a new recession. But stocks ended the weak higher as the S&P 500 moved above a key level of resistance. This confused some traders but those who follow one method of analysis were not surprised.

For another week U.S investors and corporate CEOs questioned the economic skills of the administration’s experts. Did China pick this time specifically to fight back with new tariffs? What is an investor to do?

Some economists and the financial media wonder whether the latest tariff Tweet may weaken the economy enough to cause a recession. Many are wondering if the administration’s economic team is up to the challenge.

The plunge in bullish sentiment in last week’s American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) survey dropped it to the lowest level since last December. Does that mean that stocks should be bought or is there something missing?